Falchion
The Falchion (ファルシオン Farushion) is a divine Sword that appears in the Archanea Series and Fire Emblem Awakening. Forged from a fang of Naga upon her departure from the realm of the living, this weapon is imbued with the power to slay dragons, and has, throughout its various incarnations, proven pivotal in vanquishing end-game antagonists, including the likes of Medeus, Duma, and Grima. The sword is solely bound to Marth, Alm, Chrom, and Lucina, and confers upon them the ability to recover their HP when it is used as a normal item. In Awakening, the blade has three incarnations, each one named differently: in its sealed form, it is known as the Sealed Sword Falchion (封剣ファルシオン Fūken farushion) in the Japanese version of the game and simply called Falchion in the English release; once awakened by Naga, it is referred to as the Exalted Falchion (神剣ファルシオン Shinken farushion, lit. Divine Sword Falchion); and the version used by Lucina is called the Parallel Falchion (裏剣ファルシオン Uraken farushion, lit. Secret Sword Falchion, or more loosely "sword from the other side"), referring to the fact that it is similar to Chrom's and from another timeline, although it is different statistically, being superior to Chrom's sealed version and inferior to the Exalted Falchion. Profile ''Archanea Series The Falchion was once wielded by the hero Anri to defeat the shadow dragon Medeus and halt his reign of tyranny. Later, during the events of ''Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi (and all subsequent remakes and sequels), the blade is stolen from Altea by King Jiol of Gra after the death of Cornelius. By the time Anri's descendant Marth defeated Jiol the sword had already been taken from Gra by Gharnef, who wished to use it as leverage over the revived Medeus. Marth would eventually reclaim the sword after Gharnef is defeated by the Starlight spell. In Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, it is possible for Marth to procure a weaker version of the Falchion from Nagi. While the origins of this version are unknown, it is probable that it was forged from one of Nagi's own fangs. In addition to being weaker than the original, this version of Falchion is also significantly heavier. Another Falchion exists in Fire Emblem Gaiden, where it was given to King Rudlf of Rigel by the god Duma in order to seal away the goddess Mila. Due to Mila's power being sealed within, the sword was able to be used by Alm to defeat Duma and send both gods into slumber. ''Fire Emblem Awakening The Falchion reappears in ''Awakening, where it is, alongside the Fire Emblem, one of the royal treasures of Ylisse, and is the personal weapon of Chrom. In the later parts of the game, the seal suppressing the powers contained within Chrom's Falchion is released by Naga, transforming it into the Exalted Falchion. This game's version of the blade resembles the one originally wielded by Marth, with the exception of its hilt: the original hilt comprises a guard embossed with a curved, wing-like finish, a ruby in the middle, and an emerald studded into the pommel, while in Awakening the guard is ridged and surrounds a teardrop-shaped hole, the grip is reddish-brown, the pommel is crown-like and has no gem, and a strip of gold runs down the blade, filling in the fuller. The discrepancy in its appearance across time is explained by Lucina in her supports with Owain: the hilt (along with the entirety of the Shield of Seals) has gone through repeated breakages and re-forgings over the centuries. The blade itself is immune to the ravages of time and will never rust or dull, hence its pristine appearance. An alternate version of the Falchion is brought into Chrom's timeline by Lucina, where it is referred to as the Parallel Falchion. According to Lucina's supports with her sibling, only those descending from Ylissean royalty possess the potential to wield the Falchion, and on top of that, the spirits inhabiting the blade are selective about whom they deem worthy. Those not deemed worthy will, according to Lucina, find that it is dull in their hands, so much so that they are incapable of performing menial tasks like chopping wood with it. In the final support conversation Lucina shares with her sibling, her sibling is revealed to have, though unwittingly, been accepted by the blade. However, no form of the Falchion in the game can be used by anyone other than Marth, Chrom, and Lucina. ''Fire Emblem Fates The Falchion, in its Archanea series and ''Awakening forms, returns in Fates. They are weapons that are only used by scanning amiibos of Marth and Lucina respectively. Both are bound to Marth and Lucina's inventories and cannot be removed from them. Also when Chrom reappears in the Before Awakening Xenologue, he uses the same Falchion he used in Awakening. Chrom's Falchion is completely unobtainable. Weapon Stats ''Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi Fire Emblem Gaiden Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Original Version Nagi's Version Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~ Fire Emblem Awakening Sealed Version Parallel Version Exalted Version Fire Emblem Fates Original Version Parallel Version Chrom's Version Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Falchion Sword |16 |- |Weak |Resist |- |Weak |- |Resist |- |- |- |- | Cleave Lance-Slash Rakukaja Str Boost Quick Step |Caspar Force x1 Crawling Darkness x1 1-Star Prestige x1 }} Exalted Falchion Sword |135 |- |Weak |Resist |- |Weak |- |Resist |- |Resist |Resist |Recovers a small amount of HP every turn | Dekunda Charge Wyrmicide Null Seal Fighting Spirit |Whitescale Force x1 Argent Habit x1 6-Star Prestige x3 }} True Sword Falchion Sword |150 |- |Weak |Resist |- |Weak |Resist |Repel |Resist |- |- |Increases SP gauge. | Maziodyne Focused Blade Thoron Elec Expertise EX Repel Elec |Caspar Force x1 ? 1-Star Prestige x1 }} Item Locations Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi |Dropped |Gharnef (Ch. 23) |} Fire Emblem Gaiden |Treasure |Ch. 5 - Chest in Basement 1 of Duma's Temple. |} Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem |Dropped |Gharnef (Final-2) |} Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Original Version |Dropped | Closest Gharnef (Ch. 23) |} Nagi's Version |Event |Ch. 24x - End of chapter. |} Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~ |Dropped |Gharnef (Ch. 23) |} Fire Emblem Awakening Sealed Version |Inventory |Chrom |} Parallel Version |Inventory |Lucina |} Exalted Version |Event |Ch. 24 - End of chapter. |} Fire Emblem Fates Original Version |Inventory |Marth amiibo (bound) |} Parallel Version |Inventory |Lucina amiibo (bound) |} Non-Canon Apperances Kirby Super Star/Kirby Super Star Ultra The Falchion appears as a piece of treasure in the Great Cave Offensive, where it is worth 375,000 G. It is correctly named in the Japanese version, but the English localization did not pick up on the reference and renamed it to "Sword." The English translation of ''Kirby Super Star Ultra fixed this, and the Falchion is correctly named in all regions. Super Smash Bros. Series In the Super Smash Bros. series, the Falchion is the insignia representing all characters hailing from the Fire Emblem series. The Falchion is the main weapon of Marth in all three of his appearances in the series. Its design is similar to the Falchion's first design from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, though with some minor redesigns in each game. Marth's Falchion deals more damage if the opponent is struck by the tip of the sword. The Falchion, in its Fire Emblem Awakening form, is Lucina's main weapon in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Unlike Marth's Falchion, Lucina's deals equal damage no matter what part of the sword hits the opponent. Chrom also wields his Falchion during Robin's Final Smash. Monster Hunter Frontier G The Awakening version of the Falchion makes a cameo appearance as a part of the Fire Emblem crossover for Monster Hunter Frontier G. Chrom's regular Falchion and Lucina's Parallel Falchion are the base versions of their weapon set. If forged and upgraded, Chrom's Falchion will turn into the Exalted Falchion, complete with the same golden glow on the blade while Lucina's will upgrade to an improved Parallel Falchion with a silver glow. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. The Falchion makes an appearance in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. in both its original and Awakening versions wielded by Marth and Lucina respectively. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Falchion is Itsuki Aoi's default and weakest Carnage. Trivia *Despite its name, the Falchion is not actually a falchion, but a medieval shortsword. A real falchion is curved and single-edged, more akin to a scimitar or a machete. *To commemorate the launching of Shadow Dragon, Nintendo had an actual sword forged in the likeness of the Falchion. *During Cornelius's fight with Gharnef in the Fire Emblem OVA, the Falchion is depicted as twice its original size, in stark contrast with the OVA's VHS cover and its appearance in the games themselves. *In both Shadow Dragon and Shin Monshō no Nazo, Marth displays no unique animations while wielding the Falchion. *In its Awakening manifestation, the markings on the Falchion read "Sniamer llits erutuf eht tsol si esle lla nehw", which, when reversed, is "When all else is lost the future still remains". *In Awakening, a blue glow fills up the teardrop-shaped hole in the sword during certain points in the story, although the reason for this is not revealed. It has been theorised that this phenomenon occurs each time history is rewritten. *In Awakening, despite the Parallel version being the same one as Chrom's (as Lucina inherited it upon his death in the future), he cannot wield it. *In Awakening, even after recruiting Lucina, the Parallel Falchion's description still reads "Marth only". Gallery File:FalchionAwakeningRuneScript.jpg|Concept artwork of the Falchion's engraving in Awakening. File:MHFG Falchion.png|The Falchion and the Shield of Seals in Monster Hunter Frontier G. File:Falchion (TCG).jpg|The Falchion as it appears in the sixth series of the TCG. File:NagaMyth.jpg|CG still of the tapestry in the opening preamble of Mystery of the Emblem, featuring Naga entrusting humanity with the Falchion and the Shield of Seals. File:NewMysteryEvt 04.png|CG still of the Falchion in Shin Monshō no Nazo, laid across the Shield of Seals. File:Opening05.png|CG still of the Falchion, alongside a collection of other swords, in Shin Monshō no Nazo. File:NewMysteryFalchion.jpg|A sepia CG still featuring the Falchion plunged into the ground of a battlefield. File:Cornelius w falchion.PNG|Screenshot of the Falchion from the anime, where it is wielded by Cornelius. File:RealFalchion.jpg|The real-life forged rendition of the Falchion, photographed amidst other Fire Emblem-related paraphernalia during a Nintendo World launch event. File:FE3 Falchion.gif|Animation of Marth attacking with the Falchion in Mystery of the Emblem. File:Marth using Falchion (FE12).png|Screenshot of Marth preparing to perform a critical attack with the Falchion in Shin Monshō no Nazo. File:Parallel Falchion (FE13).png|Lucina wielding the Parallel Falchion in Awakening. File:Exalted Falchion (FE13).png|Chrom wielding the Exalted Falchion in Awakening. File:LucinaFatesStance.jpeg|Lucina wielding the Parallel Falchion in Fates.